Journal-bearing



: NITE STATES JOURNAL-BEARING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,268, dated November 6, 1888. Application filed January 16, 1888. Serial No. 260,832. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT H. HEWITT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Journal-Bearings, of which I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

. My present invent-ion relates particularly to that class of journal bearings composed of metals of unequal hardness, the harder metal constituting a bearing block and usually termed the brass, and the softer metal forming a lining for the inner face of the brass. This lining of softmetal is applied to the inner face of the bearing-block or brass in order that during its initial use the wearingface of the bearing may more readily adjust itself with exactness t the surface of the journal, so that the danger of heating incident to uneven wear may be avoided. In the construction of this kind of journal-bearing it is customary to apply the soft-metal lining to the bearing-block or brass in the form of a sheet soldered thereto, and in the practical use of this old form of bearing it is frequently found that the weight of the load and the rotation of the journal so forcibly compress the softmetal as to cause it to protrude beyond the ends of the brass, where, by reason of its integral connection with the portion beneath the brass, it will continue to remain and wear against the shoulder and collar of the journal until the body of soft metal beneath the brass is practically Worn away. This protruding of the soft-metal lining beyond the ends of the brass is particularly injurious, as it is apt to accumulate grit or dust, which aids in grinding away the shoulder and collar of the journal. In the use of journal-bearings having the soft-metal lining applied to the inner face of the brass in sheet form it is also found that during initial use the soft metal is apt to be squeezed from beneath the sides of the brass in the form of thin sheets, which accumulate in the journal-box and interfere with the action of the waste in its application of the lubricant to the face of the journal.

One of the objects of my present invention is to avoid all danger of soft-metal projections at the ends and sides of the bearings; and in this connection my invention consists in providing the inner face of the hardmetal block or brass with a number of independent softmetal elevations, so that as these soft-metal elevations becomecrushed down and are expressed to any extent from the ends or sides of the bearing they will drop away in minute pieces without danger of injurious wear upon the shoulder or flange of the journal and without danger of interference with the proper action of the waste in the lubrication of the journal-face. A further advantage incident to the use of independent soft-metal elevations as a lining for the inner face of the hard metal is that a much less quantity of such soft metal need be employed for the purpose of enabling the wearing-face of the bearing to conform with exactness to the contour of the journal.

A further object of my invention is to enable the wearing-face of the bearing to conform as speedily as possible to the surface of the journal, so that in case of irregularities existing in thejournal there may be no danger of excessive friction at any point by reason of the failure of a proper contact of the bearing.

To this end my invention consists in providing the inner face of the bearing-block or brass with elevations, said elevations having reversely-inclined surfaces in order to permit them to more readily yield under the initial pressure of the load to the precise contour of the journal-face.

During the initial use of ajournal-bearing it is particularly desirable that there should be a thorough lubricationof the journal While the bearing under the action of the load-pressure and the rotation of the journal is being forced to conform to the surface of the journal, and especially is this the case when new bearings are applied to journals the peripheries of which have become irregularly worn in long usage.

A further object of my invention is to afford an effective means of insuring a thorough lubrication of the bearing during initial use; and to this end my invention consists in providing the inner face of the bearing with elevations, the surfaces of which are separated by spaces or depressions from each other on all sides, so

that the lubricant as it is taken up by the journal from the journal-box may be allowed to flow more freely over the inner face of the soft metal, and will not be scraped off therefrom, as is apt to be the case when the softmetal lining is applied in sheet form or is provided with ridgesextending in lhedireetion of the length of thebearing.

In this connection a still further object of my invention is to enable the soft-metal lin ing of thejournal-bearing to more effectively retain and distribute a lubricant applied to the face thereof; and to this end myinvention consists in forming the inner face of the bearing with elevations having their bases or points of union with the body of the block of less area than the portions more remote therefrom, so as to more securely retain the lubri cant until it is squeezed out upon the face of the journal as the elevations are gradually crushed down during initial use.

My invention also consists in certain details of construction hereinafter described, illus trated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a view in vertical longitudinal section through a journal-bearing made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of my improved bearing. Fig. 3 is a view in end elevation. Fig. 4 is a view in vertical longitudinal section through a somewhat modified form of bearing.

A designates the main body of the bearingblock or brass, which in the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings will be of ordinary and well-known form, and may be made of any metal or alloy suitable for the purpose. To the inner face of this bearingblock or brass is attached, preferably by the method to be hereinafter described, a large number of independent soft-metal elevations, l i, which in the construction shown are of spherical shape, except at their points of contact with the face of the bearing-block, where they are somewhat flattened. These elevations may be formed of any suitable metal or alloy (such, for example, as lead or an alloy of lead and antimony) that is softer than the body of the bearingbloek or brass, and they may be arranged in any suitable manner over the inner face of the bearing-block, although I prefer that their arrangement be such that the centers or larger portions of the elevations shall be in close proximity, for a purpose to be presently stated. lly thus forming the softmetal lining of the bearing-block or brass of a series of independent elevations it is apparent that when these elevations are crushed down under the force of the load-pressure and the rotation of the journal, any portion of the soft metal expressed from the ends or side of the bearing will drop away in minute particles instead of remaining connected with the portion of the soft metal beneath the brass, as would be the case were the soft-metal lining formed of a continuous sheet. Hence all danger of injurious wear upon the shoulder or flange of the journal or of defective lubrication by reason of the protrusion of the softmetal lining is avoided. 3y thus forming the lining of the bearing of a number of soft-metal elevations it is also obvious that much less metal is required for such lining than would be necessary were a continuous sheetemployed for such purpose.

As each of the soft-lnetal elevations B presents reversely inclined or curved surfaces with respect to the face of the bearing-block, it will be seen that under the initial load-pressure and action of the journal the lining will more speedily conform to the face of thejournal, so that in case any irregularities exist in thejournal-faee there will be no danger of excessive friction at any point by reason of the failure of the soft-metal lining to contact there with.

As the surfaces of the soft-metal elevations are separated from each other on all sides by depressions or spaces between them, it is apparent that during initial use the oil or other lubricant taken up by the journal from the journal-box will have much betteropportunity to distribute around the elevations and beneath the bearing than would be possible were the soft-metal lining in sheet form or provided with longitudinal ridges, in which last constructions the edges of the soft metal would tend to scrape the lubricant from the face of the journal.

Inasmuch as the bases of the elevations B are of less area than their centers or portions more remote from the face ofthebearing-block, and as these elevations are by preference in close proximity to each other, it is plain that a number of pockets or recesses will be formed beneath the central portions of the bases, wherein a suitable ]ubricant-preferably some stiff unguentcan be retained, and by means of such pockets such lubricant can be held in much greater quantity and much more securely upon the face of the bearing than would be possible if the elevations did not incline outwardly from their bases.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. i of the drawings the soft-metal elevations are attached to the face of the bearing-block or brass A in the same relative position and manner as hereinbefore described; but in this form of bearin g the brass has its lower face higher at its center than at points adjacent its ends, in order to not only effect a better distribution of the load-pressure over the face of the journal, but particularly in case the journal has be come worn by long usage more at its center than at its ends to permit the wearing-face of the bearing to more perfectly conform to the worn face of the journal, and thus avoid all danger of the bearing bridging over the center of the journal and producing an uneven wear upon its ends.

The method which I prefer to employ for IIS uniting the soft-metal elevations B to the inner face of the bearing-block A is as follows, viz: I take a hollow mandrel the periphery of which conforms in outline to the inner face of the bearing-block A, and upon the surface of this mandrel is raised a head or ridge defining an area equal to that governed by the soft-metal elevations. I distribute over this mandrel, preferably by the use of a suitable funnel, anumber ofsoft-metal spheres, which,when subsequently united to the bearing-block,constitutetheindependentelevations B. Through the hollow mandrel will be passed a current of cold air or water sufficient to chill the surface whereon the small soft -metal spheres rest. Having thus distributed over the face of the mandrel the soft-metal spheres in the position which they are to occupy upon the inner face of the bearing-block A, I next heat this block to a sufficient temperature to fuse the soft metal, and then preferably apply to the inner face of the bearing-block afilm of solder,after which I place the bearing-block upon the softmetal spheres as they rest upon the mandrel. By this operation it will be found that while the heat of the bearing-block is sufficient to fuse the outer portions of the soft-metal spheres the inner portions of such spheres, by reason of their contact with the chilling-surface of the mandrel,will not be fused. By this means I am enabled to attach the spheres to the bearing-block in such manner as to form the soft metal elevationsB independently of each other and in substantially the shape and position illustrated in the drawings. WVhile I have described the preferred method of attaching the soft-metal elevations B to the inner face of the bearing-block, I do not here make claim to such method,as I propose to embrace the same in a subsequent application for Letters Patent. While I have shown the soft-metal elevations B of spherical shape, it will be readily understood that the precise outline or contour elevations, substantially as described.

2. A journal-bearing consisting of a hardmetal portion the inner face of which is provided with elevations, the surfaces of said elevations being reversely inclined on opposite sides of their horizontal centers, substantially as described.

3. A journal-bearing consisting of a hardinetal portion the inner face of which is provided with a number ofindependent spherical elevations of softer metal, substantially as described.

4. A journal-bearing consisting of a hard metal portion the inner face of which is provided with soft-metal elevations separated from each other by depressions or spaces on all sides, substantially as described.

5. Ajournal-bearing theinner face of which is provided with elevations, the bases of such elevations being of less area than their centers, substantially as described.

6. A journal-bearing consisting of a hardmetal portion the inner face of which is provided with elevations of softer metal in close proximity to each other and having their bases of less area than their centers, substantially as described.

HERBERT H. HEWITT.

\Vitnesses:

GEO. P. FISHER, J r., I. B. CARPENTER. 

